The number of wind turbines in Michigan will increase more than tenfold this year, to the delight of dozens of farmers in the state's Thumb region.
Wind-energy developer Noble Environmental Power LLC is installing 32 turbines near the village of Ubly in Huron County's Bingham Township. The company says the Noble Thumb Windpark will be the state's first commercial-scale wind farm.
The electricity it generates will be sold to Consumers Energy, which will market it to consumers at a premium as "green" energy.
Construction started in December and is scheduled to be done by late summer or early fall. The $90 million project will give the state a total of 35 wind turbines, including two in Mackinaw City and one in Traverse City.
The farmers will make money by leasing out the land on which the wind turbines are being built. Five turbines will stand on one landowner's property and four will …
Wind-energy developer Noble Environmental Power LLC is installing 32 turbines near the village of Ubly in Huron County's Bingham Township. The company says the Noble Thumb Windpark will be the state's first commercial-scale wind farm.
The electricity it generates will be sold to Consumers Energy, which will market it to consumers at a premium as "green" energy.
Construction started in December and is scheduled to be done by late summer or early fall. The $90 million project will give the state a total of 35 wind turbines, including two in Mackinaw City and one in Traverse City.
The farmers will make money by leasing out the land on which the wind turbines are being built. Five turbines will stand on one landowner's property and four will go up on another, but most farmers will have one or two, says Peter Mastic, general manager of Essex, Conn.-based Noble Environmental Power.
The landowners will receive approximately $10,000 annually for each turbine on their property. For some, the extra money may mean "the difference between a good year and a not-so-good year," Mastic says.
The company says the wind farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power 16,000 homes.
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